


Reckless

by AraneaHighwind



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-22 10:21:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13164906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraneaHighwind/pseuds/AraneaHighwind
Summary: Recklessness isn’t the trademark of the King's trusted advisor... or is it?  This follows the original cannon storyline of Final Fantasy XV and is a story in 3 (or more) parts.





	1. That Was Rather Reckless

**Author's Note:**

> Ignis isn’t known for his recklessness. But when it comes to dire circumstances, he might throw caution and self-preservation to the wind. This fanfic explores Ravus and Ignis as a commonality- both did reckless things in the name of the person they wanted most to protect.

“That was rather invigorating! Well, I think that’s enough for one day.” Ardyn spoke in his slithery, smooth tone. The power of the Ring of the Lucii had gone from Ignis and Ardyn knew the strategist was spent.

“Still, that was rather naughty of you. I shall leave you a reminder- don’t cross me again.” As Ardyn spoke, he drew out the dagger he had threatened to cut Noctis’ throat with and drove forward sharply. Ignis screamed in pain as the dagger sunk into his left side, just under his rib cage. Enchanted with elemental darkness, the dagger burned Ignis’ flesh on the outside and on the inside. Ardyn chuckled and vanished.

Ignis staggered back toward where he thought Noctis was lying prone, knocked out from his fight against the Hydraen. Faintly, he was aware of the subtle energy emitted by the Prince. It felt like a gentle warmth against his face when he turned toward Noctis. He was terrified. The Ring of the Lucii had exacted a terrible price from him. Ignis was forced to admit, though, that the price could have been much higher. And he would have been more than willing to pay. Darkness was all he could see. It was a cloying, sentient being that surrounded him and pressed in on his consciousness. Ignis reached out with his other senses and again touched that subtle spark of energy that he associated with Noctis.

Ignis stumbled on the rubble of the altar of the Tidemother, momentarily lost his balance, then recovered for the last few steps before exhaustion forced him to his knees and eventually onto his back. His strength gave out at last as he removed the ring from his finger and let it fall next to him. He wanted that buzzing energy away from his being. It interrupted his other senses now that its power was gone. As soon as he was rid of the ring, the cloying darkness receded slightly and Noctis’ energy buzzed stronger nearby. The sense of the gentle warmth of a campfire came to mind as Ignis reached out for his liege who remained unconscious just out of his reach.

As adrenaline faded, pain came crashing in. Ignis fumbled for the dagger, wanting to be rid of its ceaseless burning. He groaned as his hand ran clumsily into the dagger’s hilt.

“That was rather reckless,” came the voice of Ravus. Ignis couldn’t tell exactly where the sound was coming from. His body was wracked with pain from the dagger and from the burns he incurred as a result of using the Ring of the Lucii. His left eye still felt like it was aflame and his right eye throbbed. There was a large cut across his nose and his lip was split on the bottom. He tried to respond to Ravus; he wanted to give him a snide reply about how Ravus was quite the one to talk about recklessness. Instead, he started to cough.

“Noctis... is he... is he alright?”

“More or less, thanks to you. Be still; take your rest. You’ve a calling to fulfill.”

Ignis wheezed and again fumbled around for the dagger hilt. He groaned again in pain as he struggled and found himself too weak to do anything about the weapon. Ravus knelt over Ignis’ form.

“As do I... however at the moment, your calling is in danger if you do not survive.” Ravus looked closely at the weapon protruding from Ignis’ mid-section. “A blade enchanted with elemental darkness. This cannot remain in your torso... it must be removed.” Ravus tentatively reached for Ignis’ face and touched the silvery burns over his left eye. The wound created by the Ring of the Lucii had cauterized and didn’t bleed. He gently ran his thumb over the burned eyelid and his worst fear was realized; both of his eyes were intact, but had been left bereft of vision. They appeared clouded over due to cataracts that remained in the wake of the Ring's power.

Ignis moaned in pain again and his hand reached for the dagger hilt. Ravus stopped him. “Let me take care of this. I am going to count down from three and I need you to exhale all your breath.” Ravus took hold of the dagger hilt, “3... 2... 1...”

Ignis exhaled sharply and Ravus pulled the dagger carefully, trying to pull it out the same way it went in. Ignis gritted his teeth but ended up screaming in pain as the dagger was pulled from his body. Ravus pulled the dagger and watched as the blade vanished in a purple flame. He quickly pressed a compress from the pouch at his hip against the wound.

“Hold this here...”. Ravus moved Ignis’ left hand against the compress and helped him press down. Blood quickly soaked the compress Ravus noted several other bruises and wounds. Recovery would take time. He regarded the burns over his eyes and knew those might never heal. Only time would tell how much or how little this would affect the injured man before him.

“Iggy!”

Ravus looked up and saw the King’s shield and his blond friend coming toward the alter. He rose slowly. “May fortune favor us both... and you as well, Noctis.”

“Take your Prince,” Ravus looked up at Gladio, “I’ll help your other friend here. I’ve a transport waiting to bear us to the Leville.”

“And why should I trust you?” Gladio spoke, his voice barely above a whisper and filled with rage.

“You haven’t a better option do you?” Ravus waited for his words to sink in as the transport he had spoken of arrived. It was an Altissian boat commandeered by an Altissian guard.

Gladio was infuriated, but as he looked from Prompto to Noctis to Ignis, he reluctantly agreed. It would take far too long for just himself and Prompto to try and get these two to safety.

"Keep an eye on him,” Gladio growled at Prompto as he carefully assessed Noctis for wounds before picking him up.

Ravus again knelt beside Ignis and looked at the dagger wound. Ignis was dazed and his breathing was labored. Ravus took a different compress out of his pack along with some gauze strips to wrap around and hold the compress in place.

”Come here, boy.” Ravus looked at Prompto, who startled slightly before coming over. “Hold him up so I can properly wrap this wound.

Prompto nodded and knelt behind Ignis’ head. He propped Ignis up against himself until he was sitting. He looked at the advisor’s battered body, flinching at the sight of the silvery burn over his left eye.

Ignis stirred uncomfortably from the pain around his middle as he was moved. Prompto noticed him trying to open his eyes. His right eye barely opened and it was a milky, deadened color. His left eye remained shut behind the burn.

”Iggy, it’s me. Don’t try to move. We’re getting you out of here to somewhere safe.” Prompto spoke, trying to soothe his friend with his shaky voice.

”Noct...” Ignis tried to find the prince and was frustrated by his lack of sight. He couldn’t open his left eye at all and his right eye was failing him, showing only dark shadows as the clouds opened up overhead and began to rain with heavy droplets. He had failed. "Forgive me…"

The terrible vision revealed to him of Noctis' fate remained stark and clear in his mind. He had failed to alter the reality of the future. He had made the wrong choice for a mere temporary, small gain. But Ardyn was gone and Noctis was safe for the moment.

Ravus opened the front of Ignis’ shirt and pulled the tails free from his pants until the shirt hung loosely behind him. “The King’s Shield has the prince. You need to relax. This might hurt a bit.”

Ravus again pressed a larger, clean compress against the wound, “Hold this here.” Ignis hissed in pain, but held the compress in place while Ravus proceeded to wrap a bandage around his body. Ravus noted that the advisor was heavily muscled. No wonder he had been a match for him.

”Most advisors I’ve met in my life are not fit for fighting. You surprise me.” Ravus noted, trying to keep the conversation light.

”Most advisors don’t have Noctis for a King...” Ignis responded. A wry smile spread across his face and he tried to laugh before he realized it hurt.  
  
”You have a point.” Ravus finished wrapping the wound and tied it off expertly before helping Ignis to his feet with Prompto’s help.  
  
The three of them slowly picked their way across the rubble. The rain came down heavier, making shapes and shadows impossible for Ignis to distinguish well. When they arrived at the transport, Gladio helped Ignis on board to a seat followed by Prompto and Ravus.

The boat quickly sped away from the alter under the gathering gloom as nightfall came. The clouds continued their steady drizzle, seeming to gather strength for a downpour at any moment. The skies were dark and angry, perhaps a reflection of the emotions of the Tidemother upon being disturbed earlier.

Ignis was exhausted. His head throbbed painfully behind his closed eyelids. He kept seeing flashes of the vision he was shown. Now he knew far too much. It wasn't for mankind to know their fate ahead of time. Ignis was already assessing what the next steps would look like. Every road he could imagine led back to the same ending. He had failed; failed to alter the course of fate in that short bout against Ardyn. It had been nothing more than a desperate ploy to get him away from Noctis and now he sorely wished he had thought the options through more carefully. No matter, he thought. He would continue to search and find another way to spare Noctis his ultimate fate. The burden of knowledge weighed heavily on his aching shoulders. How he longed for a hot bath and some relief from this cold drizzle.

The boat finally slowed as it arrived at the miraculously intact Leville. This area had been spared the most damage, having been one of the areas he had helped liberate earlier. The Leville was in all likelihood packed to the brim sheltering refugees from the destruction. Ignis stood unsteadily and both Ravus and Prompto helped him climb out of the boat. Prompto continued with his hand on Ignis' elbow. Ignis let himself be led down the street to the hotel.

"This is where I take my leave." Ravus touched Ignis' shoulder in farewell. "You should be alright from here. Take care on the long road ahead of you."

"Thank you." Ignis said simply. He was too tired to argue and his mind danced in a hundred directions it seemed; certainly not fit to laser target any questions for Ravus. Ignis was helped by Prompto inside where Weskham was waiting for them all. He took a look at the King's Shield, then immediately went to help Ignis, who was definitely worse off than the Prince.

"I've got a few rooms prepared for you four. And the doctor is on standby to take a look." Weskham glanced at the wounds on Ignis' face. He was fairly certain he knew the source of the burns. He helped the four get inside and get settled for the night.


	2. Forward Movement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Noctis and his retinue move away from Cartanica as Ravus prepares for his own journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1/1/2018- made a few additions to this chapter and think it's done!

It had been several weeks and the train was preparing to leave Cartanica. They had successfully managed to visit the Royal Tomb, but had narrowly escaped. Ignis was frustrated internally. Frustrated at his eyesight that refused to return. The most he could get out of his sight were filmy shadows. Most of the time, the bright light outside hurt his eyes. The Ring of the Lucii had oxidized the lenses of his eyes to a high degree, leaving them filmy and glassy looking. It was like seeing out a filthy, muck covered window with no chance at washing it clear. There hadn't been much of a choice at the time. In the spur of the moment, with his mind still reeling from the vision of Noctis' future, Ignis had taken the one road he knew would obtain results and keep Noctis safe. This was a desperate gamble that had only partially returned value for the risk taken.

As the train prepared to depart and cars were attached, Ignis sat in the dining car with his hands folded serenely in his lap holding the cane he had acquired in Altissia. His companions were silent at the moment. Though he had settled the bickering between Gladio and Noctis for the moment, there was still a heavy air that settled over their little group. Sitting at the center of it was Ignis and his impaired vision.

Ignis turned his face toward the window and let the sunshine warm him a bit. At least he could sense light and with that could detect blurry motion. He had already decided on using Noctis' energy as a focal point for himself. It was a strange feeling, but his studies had taught him that the King's closest companions over time gained an innate sense of being bonded to the Crystal via their sovereign. This was now his point of focus for direction and he found he could sense how far away Noctis was, whether it was a few feet or probably even a mile or two. It might even extend across continents for all he knew.

Absently, Ignis touched his left brow. He had started the habit when the wound was fresh. Now it was scarred over and hardened and he still touched it out of habit. He adjusted the sunglasses he was wearing as the train finally set off. He cataloged a small triumph that he didn't have to fumble around for the sunglasses with his fingertips before making adjustments. He let out a small sigh as his hands returned to their serene position in his lap holding the cane.

"How's your sight?" Gladio was sitting directly across from Ignis, a hulking blur with a dark mass for hair and indistinct facial features.

"The same. But I am learning to adjust. I stand by what I said; if I cannot keep up, I will bow out."

Gladio searched Ignis' face. Ignis was unable to see the concern in the Shield's eyes as he looked over his friend. The advisor was still a threat in a fight. He had seen it first hand. And now it appeared he was quickly adapting to his other senses, which provided him a strong edge in battle. He no longer closed in on enemies, instead preferring to keep his distance and hurl magic flasks. Regardless of his preference to keep enemies further away, he invariably was close enough to Noctis in battle to provide him elemental enhancements to his weapons during combat. He saved his daggers to help him put space between himself and whatever enemy he was fighting. Now Gladio saw more of the lance than he did the daggers. He was still a liability. But he kept his opinion to himself. He had made his thoughts known to the group and had been overruled. They would adjust and Ignis was aware that if it came down to it, Gladio would protect Noctis first. The same would apply if the shoe were on the other foot.

The two sat across from each other in silent understanding. Much had happened in the months since leaving Insomnia behind and both Gladio and Ignis were well aware that there was still a long road ahead. Ignis was keenly aware of what lay ahead and struggled internally minute by minute on whether he should reveal what he knew to Noctis. Every time he thought about speaking up, he closed his mouth before he would say anything. It was folly for Noctis to know his future and Ignis still hoped to find a way to circumvent what appeared to be inevitable. Perhaps he would just reveal information to Gladio and later on to Prompto. There was still time for events to play out, though. Ignis, ever pragmatic, wasn't convinced that the future was set in stone. So he kept the vision to himself and watched for signs that this was indeed fated to happen.

\---  
Ravus sat at the window of his room in the royal house of Tenebrae. Much of the nation had fallen to smoldering ruin, but the royal house remained mostly intact. Several wings would need to be rebuilt, but the room occupied by first his sister and now by himself remained untouched. He stared outside, his grey gaze not really seeing anything in particular and lost in reflection.

His mother was gone. Lunafreya was gone. Gentiana had disappeared. He hadn't expected her to stay after Lunafreya's death. Ravus absently pushed a stray lock of snowy white hair out of his eyes. There was still a great deal of work to do. He wasn't exaggerating when he told Ignis that the Oracle wouldn't rest until her true calling was fulfilled.

"Sister, I will do my best in your stead. You never understood why I went to Nifleheim and appeared to side with the enemy. It was for your sake that I went. I always wanted nothing more than to see you happy and free. And now you are gone, so in your stead I will do what I can to see your calling fulfilled. I will not ask your blessing or understanding for the things I have done."

Ravus stood and pushed away from the window. In the corner of the room stood an ornate sword of Lucian make. Ravus had claimed it when Insomnia fell and had brought the sword here to Tenebrae almost on a whim. How foolish he believed himself to be. Looking back, his arrogance had cost him his arm. And now he held the sword meant for Noctis here in Tenebrae. He knew what must be done.

Ravus took hold of the sword that had belonged to Regis and regarded his next steps. Noctis was headed for Gralea where he knew the Crystal waited for him. Though no one could tell for sure what regaining the crystal would do, it was a necessary step on the journey toward Noctis' ascension. Ravus determined he would bring it there in advance. He had a score to settle with the Chancellor. Reports coming in had informed him that the Chancellor had stabbed his sister and brought on her demise.

Glancing into the mirror, Ravus checked himself over. He looked haggard and older than he remembered. Perhaps he could do with a good night's rest before setting out. There were dark circles under his eyes and a frown upon his face that he felt had been present forever. When had he stopped smiling? He sighed aloud. It did no good to dwell on such things. He absently rubbed his shoulder where the prosthetic arm was attached. It still felt odd to him, the sensation of warm flesh tapering into cold and unyielding metal.

Morning would be better. Ravus told himself this over and over. He knew what he must do and knew that there was considerable risk involved. He would do well with a night's rest after all. He set down the Lucian sword and slowly changed into clothing for sleep. He grasped the bell pull in the room and an attendant appeared a few short minutes later.

"Lord Ravus, how may I assist?"

Ravus asked the attendant for a light supper and went to look out the window again. His thoughts turned toward Noctis and his retinue. Their journey might be even more perilous and desperate than his own, he mused. Ignis Scientia, the King in Waiting's advisor had certainly proven himself capable, if reckless at times. It also appeared that the King's Shield had completed the quest he had sent him on, which meant that he had matured as a warrior to fulfill his destiny. Even the gunman had prepared himself to bring Noctis to his destiny. The only question really remained with Noctis himself. Ravus figured he would need to trust the advisor to have the Prince prepared to fulfill his destiny.

"I hope your faith isn't misplaced," he said quietly as the sun set. He ate his light supper and went to sleep early, spending most of the night tossing and turning in nightmarish landscapes of darkness eternal.

When Ravus woke, he wasn't sure he had slept at all. He did feel slightly refreshed after a light breakfast. Packing lightly for his trip, Ravus set out of Tenebrae a mere 6 days before Noctis and his retinue arrived. He resolved to take his vengeance on the Chancellor and the Empire. Taking the Lucian sword with him, Ravus felt confident in his plan. When it was said and done, he would return to Noctis the sword that belonged to his father.

Ravus left the royal house of Tenebrae for what he did not know was the last time and headed for the capital city of Gralea, anger in his heart and revenge on his mind.

 


End file.
